GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR THE NEW ENGLAND CENTRAL RAILROAD INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.

Participants:
Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02),
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.),
and Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)
will join Connecticut Department of Transportation
(ConnDOT) Commissioner James Redeker and the New England Central Railroad, a subsidiary of Darien-based Genesee &
Wyoming Inc., for a groundbreaking ceremony for infrastructure upgrades to the railroad.
This event will highlight the U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant awarded to upgrade rail infrastructure to
accommodate modern freight rail carloads up to 286,000 lbs.
The ceremony will feature a moving train breaking a banner to symbolically kick-off the effort.
Where: 75 Bridge St., Willimantic (behind the Windham Chamber of Commerce)

Nicole Canova of Stonington was the Seventh Dominga of the 2016
Portuguese Holy Ghost Festival. Nicole’s family were entrusted
with the symbolic crown and scepter and were the official hosts
of the celebration.

Manhattan Theatre Club’s world premiere of Lost Lake, the new play by Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn, directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan, featuring Oscar nominee John Hawkes (The Sessions, Winter’s Bone) and Tracie Thoms (Rent, “Cold Case”), opens at MTC at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

The team behind the Pulitzer Prize-winning Proof and The Columnist returns to MTC with Lost Lake, a riveting and spirited world premiere play by Tony winner David Auburn, directed by Tony winner Daniel Sullivan.

The lakeside rental Veronica (Tracie Thoms) has managed to afford is a far cry from the idyllic getaway she and her children so desperately need. And the disheveled property owner, Hogan (John Hawkes), has problems of his own – problems that Veronica is inevitably and irrevocably – pulled into.

An engrossing and revealing portrait of two strangers bound together by circumstance, Lost Lake is a vivid new work about the struggle for connection in an imperfect world.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country’s most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. Over the past four and a half decades, MTC productions have earned numerous awards including 6 Pulitzer Prizes and 19 Tony Awards. MTC has a Broadway home at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and two Off-Broadway theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street). Renowned MTC productions include Casa Valentina; Outside Mullingar; The Assembled Parties; Venus in Fur; Master Class; Good People; The Whipping Man; Time Stands Still; The Royal Family; Ruined; Come Back, Little Sheba; Blackbird; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; A Small Family Business; Sylvia; Putting It Together; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain’t Misbehavin.’

Tickets for Lost Lake are available by calling CityTix at 212-581-1212, online by visiting www.nycitycenter.org, or by visiting New York City Center box office (131 West 55th Street). All tickets are $90.

<!–[if !supportLists]–> <!–[endif]–>MONDAY, DECEMBER 1 – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM. There are only seven performances on sale to the general public this week.

<!–[if !supportLists]–> <!–[endif]–>MONDAY, DECEMBER 8 – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.

Starting on Monday, November 10, and continuing every Monday through February, The Mark Twain House will be rolling out a new 360-degree panoramic Virtual Tour of the Mark Twain House. See the house is a whole new light, and prepare for an in-person visit!

Rolling out this first Monday is an exterior view of the house, which starts with the startling shot above. Enjoy being able to examine the intricate detail of this picturesque gothic mansion and the wonderful view of the front yard and Carriage House.

Subsequent Mondays will show the Front Hall, the Drawing Room, the Dining Room, the Library, and then on to the second and third floors of Mark Twain’s wonderful historic home. National Geographic recently named The Mark Twain House “one of the ten best historic homes in the world” in The 10 Best of Everything book. Only two other homes in the United States made that list–Monticello and Mount Vernon.

Visit the new interactive map of the house to see these panoramic virtual tours, and enjoy a taste of what people on the house tours experience in person! (The Virtual Tours can also be found by clicking on the House tab on the home page of the MarkTwainHouse.org, then clicking on Virtual Tours on the right side menu.)

Executive director Cindy Lovell believes the virtual tours will boost visitation to the House. “We have undertaken a serious initiative to increase tourism and are confident these 360-degree virtual tours are a step in the right direction,” she said. “Seeing the unique details of the home, such as the Tiffany stencils or the angel bed, should sufficiently intrigue viewers to come visit. We also realize that there are millions of Mark Twain fans around the world who may never have the opportunity to visit in person. This offers the next best thing.”

Photographer Chris Bain (chrisbain.com) created the tours on a sunny, fall morning. “I have photographed many beautiful sites all around the world, but there is something extraordinary about this place,” he said. “When I first walked into the Front Hall, I turned my head in every direction, immediately wanting to create a 360-degree virtual tour. It is easy to imagine the family appearing at any moment. The house feels lived in.”

Mark Twain was fascinated by technology, including the evolving process of photography. The Kodak camera was invented during his lifetime, which enabled just about anyone to become a photographer. “Kodak” became a verb as people “kodak’d” everything and everyone in sight. Twain playfully wrote in Following the Equator, “Crossed the equator. In the distance it looked like a blue ribbon stretched across the ocean. Several passengers kodak’d it.” There is no telling what he would say about these virtual tours of his home, but it is likely he would approve.

The Mark Twain House & Museum (www.marktwainhouse.org) has restored the author’s Hartford, Connecticut, home, where Samuel L. Clemens and his family lived from 1874 to 1891.
Twain wrote his most important works during the years he lived there, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

In addition to providing tours of Mark Twain’s restored home, a National Historic Landmark, the institution offers activities and educational programs that illuminate Twain’s literary legacy and provide information about his life and times.

The house and museum at 351 Farmington Ave. are open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 860-247-0998 or visit www.marktwainhouse.org.

Programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are made possible in part by support from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts and the Greater Hartford Arts Council United Arts Campaign.

Riding My Way Back is a short documentary that chronicles one soldier’s journey back from the brink of suicide. In 2010, Staff Sergeant Aaron Heliker returned from multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), in addition to third-degree burns and nerve damage from a roadside bomb. At his most desperate and isolated, on 42 medications and suicidal, Aaron is introduced to the unlikeliest of saviors: a horse named Fred. Through caring for Fred and building mutual trust, Aaron begins the difficult process of reconnecting to the world around him and healing the terrible, invisible wounds of war that had nearly defeated him.

HHH joins over 125 participating PATH member centers, universities, film festivals and other venues including Walter Reed Medical Center and the Capitol Visitor’s Center in Washington, DC., who will be hosting screenings during Veterans Week. http://www.ridingmywayback.com/#welcome